Animal Welfare

It was seven years ago that a small, pudgy, pit bull puppy came into our lives. She was crouched in the corner in a small kennel at the city pound. The employee told us that she had been brought in with 3 other dogs; two of which were her parents. The four dogs had been confiscated by the state in a protective custody case. I didn’t know exactly what that meant at the time but I quickly figured out that it was the label for a horrendous situation. There were numerous reports of domestic violence at the dogs’ previous residence and there were also strong allegations of dog fighting. The puppy, who came to be named Sadie, had fortunately been taken before her body had been subjected to the tremendous abuse and neglect that the owners had inflicted on her parents and the fourth dog.


The three adult dogs that had been confiscated along with Sadie were all severely malnourished; every rib could be counted underneath their dull coat. Their muscle tone had gradually disintegrated leaving behind weak, wobbly legs. Aside from these traits, the most evident and heartbreaking were the numerous scars on their faces. It was evident that the fur on their faces had been, at times, ripped off in chunks; bald spots and thick lines of scar tissue riddled the once beautiful faces. One of the dogs, Sadie’s father, had apparently been described as a “champion fighter” to witnesses; a good part of his pink nose was missing. The future was bleak for the three adult dogs at the time of Sadie’s adoption. Sadie’s mother and the third male dog, along with being severely malnourished, were found to have internal bleeding and also damage to many of their internal organs from being beaten by their previous owners. Due to the uncertainty that comes along with protective custody cases related to dog fighting, the staff at the city pound were uncertain of the adult dogs’ ability to be rehabilitated; euthinization was almost inevitable. Sadie came home with my family that day.


Fast forward to January of 2007. I began volunteering for the Animal Humane Association of New Mexico (AHANM) and Animal Protection of New Mexico. In the time that I have spent with these two organizations, I have found out that stories like Sadie’s are all too common in the city and state. Since AHANM is an animal shelter, abuse and neglect cases are a daily occurrence. It is at this organization where the rehabilitation of horrible abuse and neglect cases takes place. Depending on the degree of the situation that the animal came from, the re-socialization could take months. Many times I have sat in a kennel with a dog who has forgotten what it is like to have a friendly pat on the head. One case that is particularly memorable was that of Baby Boy. Baby Boy came to the shelter with a gunshot wound in his leg. The stout pit bull had a strong spirit, but the wound was physically wearing. It took months after his surgery to rehabilitate him. He had lost the trust that he once had in human beings. After countless hours of belly rubs and patience, Baby Boy was ready to find a true home.


The issues of animal rights and animal welfare are subjects that seem to take a backseat in most people’s minds. Current animal welfare regulations and laws are written in ways that leave a very faint voice for the voiceless. I often wonder why it is that society believes that animals should have less of a chance at humane treatment than we do. It is very rare that an individual is punished for any kind of animal cruelty. If, in the rare occasion they actually are charged, the sentence and punishment is usually insignificant and not taken seriously. Maybe it is because people are misinformed about the issue. Or, maybe people do not realize the seriousness of the abuse and neglect. Whatever the reason may be, citizens of Albuquerque need to start to correct the wrongs that society has deemed tolerable for so many years.